Archive for the “Random Musings” Category

Hello from Las Vegas! It’s day sixty-six of the #fiftyaday book tour. Last week, after driving over 5,000 miles through a dozen states, I watched the sun set marvelously over the Pacific. After two months of traveling, I made it across the country. It was one of those “I can’t believe I really just did that” moments where you look back and realize the adventure you had and all you’ve done. There was a sense of pride and accomplishment as […]

What makes a nomad a nomad? Or a backpacker a backpacker? How do you define a budget traveler? Am I a nomad because I move around a lot or did I give up the rights to call myself that when I got an apartment? Am I a luxury traveler because I stay in a hotels or a budget one because I use points to stay in them for free? I was faced with these questions last month when asked how […]

Ten years ago, I embarked on the trip that would change my life. It was 2004 and I was trying to convince a friend to visit the Galapagos Islands the following January. He wasn’t sold on the idea and suggested Thailand instead. Since I didn’t care where we went so long as we went somewhere, I agreed. I just wanted to escape the winter. So in January 2005, we set off on our two week trip. If you had told […]

“Joe, did you book your ticket yet?” I asked. “No. I changed my mind. I’m not going to go.” “What? You aren’t going to Australia? We’ve been planning this vacation for months!” “Yeah, I don’t feel like it. We’ll go some other time.” Over the coming weeks, I attempted to get my friend to reconsider, but to no avail. When Joe changed his mind, he changed his mind. Our trip to Australia – our big post-college adventure – was off. […]

Before my first trip around the world, I was driving through Boston with my friend Mike. One of the things I was talking about was how different life would be when I returned home. Where would my friends be in life? How would they have changed? What jobs would they have? New hobbies? New relationships? I imagined a world of possibility. “Everything will be exactly how you left it,” he said. “When I studied abroad, I thought the same thing. […]

Three weeks ago, I celebrated my eight-year anniversary of being on the road. On the warm morning of July 26, 2006, I left home for a year-long trip around the world. I didn’t return until 18 months later. I thought I’d be happy going back to cubicle life when I returned. I’d put my MBA to good use, promote renewable energy, and head down the path towards the American dream (job, wife, house, retirement, etc.). But the moment I sat […]

Bonjour from Paris! Today I start my next European group tour. For two weeks, I’ll be taking twelve readers to some of my favorite bars, restaurants, and locations around Western Europe. We start in Paris, a city I can’t get enough of. My countless visits here never get boring. Walking down its cobblestone streets, gazing at the Eiffel Tower, lounging in one of its parks, and smelling fresh bread and cheese at the markets fills me with joy. It’s like […]

With the cost of higher education rising dramatically each year, should you forgo college* and instead use that money to travel the world? It’s one of the questions I receive a lot from graduating high school students and disenchanted college freshmen and sophomores. In their emails, they express a desire to pursue higher education, but at the moment, they aren’t sure what they want to do and would rather travel and “figure life out.” School doesn’t seem to be a […]

Today is my birthday. I am thirty-three years old. I’m not a fan of birthdays. It’s not like today is any different than yesterday. My thoughts, feelings, successes, and failures are still the same. It’s the time in between the birthdays that changes us, not the day itself. And, anyways, why celebrate just one day of your life? Let’s celebrate life everyday. I like to treat every day as my birthday. However, as I look back on another year, I […]

I’m not giving up traveling. A few weeks ago, I wrote a post about how I no longer wanted to travel long term. Many of you thought I was going to give up traveling. That’s not the case! I’m just going to be traveling in shorter bursts. In some ways, that is the essence of a nomad – you stay in one place until the seasons change and you move on. That’s what I’m doing. I’m still a backpacker, still focused […]